1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to appliance cord reels and more particularly to that class adapted to be plugged into utility outlets secured within a wall opening or of the type which can be added to the outlet end of a flexible extension cord.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art abounds with devices which employ a reel, rotatably biased by a spring, and adapted with a housing containing the reel and an extension cord stored thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,863 issued Oct. 2, 1962 to J. A. Johnson and U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,576 issued Apr. 1, 1961, to J. A. Huber and U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,374 issued Mar. 21, 1961 to R. E. Poulsen all teach a reel adapted to store a plurality of turns of an extension cord thereupon. The reel is rotatably journalled within a housing through which one end of the cord passes, having a receptacle fitted to the cord external to the outermost surface of the housing and the other end of the cord fitted to a male plug which is either rigidly secured to the outermost surface of the housing or flexibly connected thereto. All of the above devices suffer a common deficiency, in that the cord, when wrapped about the outer surface of the reel, assumes a random overlocking position rather than an orderly distribution, in touching engagement between adjacent turns, forming a single or multilayer of cord turns thereon.